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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

vegan mofo :: DIY hot sauce!

I made my own hot sauce, which I named "Hot Vegan Chicks," in honor of my hot vegan amigas.

I was looking through Bon Appétit magazine and spied an article on how to make your own hot sauce. I was intrigued. Spicy foods foods make life worth living and bland food worth eating; I drizzle hot sauce on many dishes.

I modified the instructions slightly. I didn't want to make such a large quantity because it's just me; the amounts below make a normal-size batch. If you like hot sauce, you need to try this. It's really easy, fun, and it's frugal, too.

I used red Thai chilis. Use any hot pepper; just stick to one color.

I would just caution you to wear rubber gloves when handling the chilis. I forgot, accidentally scratched my eye, and the entire right side of my face was on fire from the pain. Yowza! Also, stick to one color chili [eg, red, yellow or green] or else you will end up with an ugly brown hot sauce.

DIY Hot Sauce [Modified from Bon Appétit]

2 cups chilis, stemmed [I used Thai red chili peppers]

2 T coarse salt

2 cups white vinegar

Makes a scant cup

First. place the chilis and salt in the food processor.

Process to a course, salsa-like mixture. The spicy kick might knock you back – it's very powerful!

Place the paste in a jar or a dish, cover and let sit for 12 hours or overnight to ferment slightly.

Add vinegar, cover, and let sit from 1-7 days. Taste each day. It will get a bit stronger as it ages.

When it's as ass-kickingly hot as you like it, it's time to blend in the food processor again.

Strain out all the seeds by pouring mixture into a sieve over a glass container or bowl. You will need to push the liquid through with a spatula. Keep pushing; there's more liquid in there than you think. Don't forget to wear rubber gloves for this step [I wish I had!].

Using a funnel, decant to a glass container. This supposedly keeps for about 4 months in the refrigerator. I don't think mine will last that long. It's fiery good!

Contest: I've extended the contest to win a free copy of hot vegan chick, Dreena Burton's Let Them Eat Vegan! Some of you reported an issue with commenting and the captcha codes. Should be all fixed now [ah, the joys of redesigning your blog!] so please enter the giveaway contest, comment away and spread the word. I'll announce the winner tomorrow or Friday.

holy moly dynise, this stuff looks INTENSE. I commend your fortitude! I like spicy food, but I am also still working on my tolerance capacity. It's improving, but I don't think I'm ready for this fiery intensity! :)